4/9/2020 basketball Edit

Seven-footer Quincy Ballard lands NC State scholarship offer

Jacey Zembal • TheWolfpackCentral

Writer

Seven-footers aren’t easy to hide in basketball recruiting, but Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education Academy reclassified senior center Quincy Ballard has been the proverbial sleeper.

The 7-foot, 246-pound Ballard broke free of anonymity by averaging 16.0 points, 11.3 boards and 5.3 blocks per game in a three-game showing at the Phenom Hoop Report state championship at Lincolnton (N.C.) Combine Academy in early March.

NC State head coach Kevin Keatts offered Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education Academy senior center Quincy Ballard this week. (Jacey Zembal/TheWolfpacker.com)

That helped him earn offers from new UNC Wilmington coach Takayo Siddle, Missouri State and UNC Asheville. Then Ballard’s recruitment took a big turn with Cincinnati and Florida State offering him April 5, then NC State and Maryland joining them Tuesday and finally hometown Syracuse on Wednesday. He hopes to make a college decision by 12 p.m. Saturday.

Longtime Quality Education Academy coach Isaac Pitts has had numerous Division I players over the last decade. He’s worked with Ballard the past two years and has always been impressed with his shot-blocking ability, which is helped in part by a 7-foot-6 wingspan.

“Quincy has always been a talent,” Pitts said. “He’s hard working. He didn’t come down here as a finished product. You could tell from his desire and work ethic that he’ll be there.

“I saw that from the beginning because he’s a big kid that can run and catch. He is very athletic and hasn’t played a lot of basketball, as it is just his third year playing.”

Pitts seems some similarities between Ballard and a past center he coached.

“He is just like Juvonte Reddic, who was a late bloomer and the best kept secret in America,” Pitts said. “He is taller than Reddic, who was like 6-9, 6-10. He is more athletic than Juvonte was at this stage, but Juvonte probably had a better offensive game.”

Reddic went on to become a quality post player at Virginia Commonwealth, averaging 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds through his four-year career.

Pitts thought Ballard averaged around eight blocks shots a game in 2019-20. He likes how Bullard moves his feet on that end to go with his length.

“He has very good timing to block shots,” Pitts said. “He doesn’t block a shot to have it go out of bounds, but almost like he’s starting the break.”

Pitts said NC State has turned things up ever since the Wolfpack season was forced to an end due to the coronavirus. NCSU had redshirt freshman center Manny Bates anchor the Pack's defense with his shot-blocking, and Pitts believes Bullard could do the same. The Wolfpack currently have 13 scholarship players for next season, but three are testing the NBA Draft process.

“The style fits him at NC State,” Pitts said. “It fits him perfectly because he’s a big kid that can run the floor. Everyone recruiting him sees upside.